A group of Maple Leafs fans have started a petition to replace their current logo with the one the team wore during their glory days.

Maple Leaf logo shown at left is on a sweater worn by the 2009 draft pick Nazem Kadri, while the one at right was on a sweater worn by goalie Johnny Bower on April 2, 1967. (July 28, 2009).

By:Adrian Morrowstaff reporter, Published on Wed Jul 29 2009

Patrick Clayton has been a Toronto Maple Leafs fan for as long as he can remember.

Growing up in Drumbo, Ont., just north of Woodstock, the 27-year-old remembers the excitement of the 1993 playoffs, when the team came within a game of the Stanley Cup final, before being felled by the Wayne Gretzky-led Los Angeles Kings.

Despite being too young to have watched the team during its Original Six heyday, he's aware of the Leafs' history, and he wants to bring some of it back: he's backing a petition, started by another young fan, to replace their current logo with the one they wore during their glory days.

The logo – a 35-pointed maple leaf, with rounder edges than the current, 11-point leaf – graced the team's jerseys as they won nine Stanley Cups, before being replaced at the end of the 1967 regular season. The team hasn't won the Cup since.

"When I look at it, I think of Johnny Bower, George Armstrong and those guys hoisting the Cup," he said. "There's always been a lot of feeling for the old logo, a lot of people identifying with it a bit more."

The idea for the petition was hatched on an Internet hockey message board, where many of the users felt the same way as Clayton. Another young user on the board set the petition up on its own website (www.leafslogo.com) and created a Facebook page.

So far, the petition has gathered more than 300 signatures.

The petition's backers have been using the Internet to promote their cause, but they're also considering holding a rally to attract attention to their efforts.

But Hall of Famer Red Kelly, a Stanley Cup champion with the Leafs, doesn't think changing the logo will make any difference.

"It's not the logo or the number on the back, it's the player that's going to do the winning," said Kelly, who won four Cups during his stint with the Leafs from 1959 to 1967.

"I think the key is the maple leaf, regardless of the shape it's in. If it's a maple leaf, then it's a Toronto team."

Rajani Kamath, communications director with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, would not comment on the petition, but notes the company has preserved the old logo on the team's alternate jerseys.

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